2. Getting Ready For This Course
Positive Attitude
Believe you can succeed.
Scheduling
Make sure you have time for your classes.
Be Prepared
Have all the materials you need, like a calculator, binder, or other supplies.
Objective A

3. General Tips for Success
Details
Get a contact person.
Exchange names, phone numbers or addresses with at least one other person in class.
Attend all class periods.
Sit near the front of the classroom to make hearing the presentation, and participating easier.
Do your homework.
The more time you spend solving mathematics, the easier the process becomes.
Check your work.
Review your steps, fix errors, and compare answers with the selected answers in the back of the book.
Learn from your mistakes.
Find and understand your errors. Use them to become a better math student.
Get help if you need it.
Ask for help when you don’t understand something. Know when your instructors office hours are, and whether tutoring services are available.
Objective B

4. General Tips for Success Continued
Details
Organize class materials.
Organize your assignments, quizzes, tests, and notes for use as reference material throughout your course.
Read your textbook.
Review your section before class to help you understand its ideas more clearly.
Ask questions.
Speak up when you have a question. Other students may have the same one.
Hand in assignments on time.
Don’t lose points for being late. Show every step of a problem on your assignment.
Objective B Continued

5. Taking Notes Tip Details Listen in Class.
Do not just write down what you see on the board.  No instructor is going to write down every word they say and sometimes the important ideas won’t get written down.
Write Down Explanatory Remarks.
Make sure you write down any explanatory remarks the instructor makes.  These often won’t get written down by the instructor, but can tell you how to work a particular kind of problem or why the instructor used one formula/method over another for a given problem.
Note Important Formulas/Concepts.
If an instructor emphasizes a particular formula or concept then make note of it.  This probably means the instructor feels that it’s important and important formulas and concepts are much more likely to show up on an exam.
Question Your Instructor.
If you are unclear on something ask questions.
Review/Edit Your Notes Regularly.
As soon you can after class go back over your notes.  Look for any errors and/or omissions.  Fill in any information you didn’t have time to write down in class. At regular intervals sit down and review your notes so that you can learn and retain the information. 
Objective B Continued

6. Get help as soon as you need it.
Getting Help
Tip
Details
Get help as soon as you need it.
Material presented in one section builds on your understanding of the previous section. If you don’t understand a concept covered during a class period, there is a good chance you won’t understand the concepts covered in the next period.
For help try your instructor, a tutoring center, or a math lab. A study group can also help increase your understanding of covered materials.
Objective D

7. Preparing for and Taking an Exam Steps for Preparing for a Test
Review previous homework assignments.
Review notes from class and section-level quizzes you have taken.
Practice working out exercises by completing the Chapter Review found at the end of each chapter.
Since homework exercises are online, you may easily work new homework exercises.
Take a sample test in conditions similar to your test conditions.
Get a good night’s sleep before the exam.
Set aside plenty of time to arrive where you will be taking the exam.
Objective E

8. Read the directions on the test carefully.
Taking Your Test
Read the directions on the test carefully.
Read each problem carefully as you take the test. Make sure that you answer the question asked.
Pace yourself by first completing the problems you are most confident with. Then work toward the problems you are least confident with. Watch your time so you do not spend too much time on one particular problem.
Do not turn your test in early. If you have extra time, spend it double-checking your work and answers.
Objective E

9. Tips for Making a Schedule
Managing Your Time
Tips for Making a Schedule
Make a list of all of your weekly commitments for the term.
Estimate the time needed and how often it will be performed, for each item.
Block out a typical week on a schedule grid, start with items with fixed time slots.
Next, fill in items with flexible time slots.
Remember to leave time for eating, sleeping, and relaxing.
Make changes to your workload, classload, or other areas to fit your needs.
Objective F